Contact Lenses when Playing Sports

One of the major downsides of glasses is that wearing them while playing sports, particularly ones involving a lot of dynamic movements, can be uncomfortable and obstructive. Contact lenses provide an easy solution for athletes who don’t want their corrective lenses to affect their performance.

Why contact lenses during sports?

Contact lenses are not unlike your glasses’ lenses in that they are corrective, meaning that they are designed to compensate for any visual problems you might experience. Unlike like glasses however, the lens isn’t mounted on a frame that sits on the bridge of your nose, instead, a contact lens sits directly on top of your eye, floating on the natural layer of moisture, oil, and lipids that covers your eyes called a tear film.

One of the key benefits of wearing contacts while playing sports is that unlike glasses, there isn’t a risk of your lenses bouncing around or falling of, or a risk of anyone accidentally knocking your specs off. This means both improved performance and confidence for an athlete playing any kind of sport that requires a lot of quick movement. Furthermore contacts provide improved peripheral vision when compared to glasses, as a mounted spectacle lens is often most effective for forward vision.

Some sports require the use of protective goggles, which can be cumbersome to wear, if even possible, whilst wearing glasses. Contacts mean you have no such issue with wearing any kind of protective eyewear, and hence no need to compromise when playing a sport you love.

What kinds of contacts are best suited for sports?

The general consensus is that gas permeable lenses are better suited to the demands of a sporting life than their softer counterparts. There are effectively two types of lenses, gas permeable, rigid lenses, and soft lenses. The latter has advantages in terms of initial comfort and sometimes cost, but gas permeable lenses bear a number of distinct advantages that render them an ideal choice for sports.

Gas permeable lenses are more permeable to oxygen, which means that the oxygen your eye needs to work well is readily available through the lens. These lenses also stay cleaner for longer periods of time compared to soft lenses which quickly accumulate deposits of proteins and oils from your eye’s natural tears. Gas permeable lenses also don’t dry out your eyes the way a soft lens would in that they don’t absorb moisture from your eye, which would leave them dry and irritated. Finally this type of lens provides clearer vision for longer as they are made of a more rigid material that maintains its shape far better than soft lenses do.

In short contact lenses, particularly the gas permeable variety, are a great option for anyone looking to keep their vision clear while playing sports. They are a comfortable and easy alternative that provide clear vision without any of the hassle of glasses that can fall off, fog up, and bounce around while you are doing what you enjoy.